1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of bottles and jars, and to the particular field of closures for bottles and jars.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Many products, such as nail polish, adhesive, and the like, require a brush for use. These products are often marketed in containers which include a brush attached to a cap for the container. A user dips the brush into the product, removes the product-laden brush from the container, and applies the product using-the brush. Accordingly, the art contains many examples of containers having caps with brushes attached thereto.
Many such containers are cumbersome to use. The container must be balanced and oriented so the cap-mounted brush can be placed in contact with the liquid contained in the container. This can be especially difficult and onerous when nail polish is being applied as a user may not be able to use both hands to orient and balance the container. Often, a user may wish to attend to other tasks during the application process. In such cases, the user must place the brush on a suitable support. However, the brush is generally covered with liquid and thus the support must be suitable. For example, during the application of nail polish, a user may want to place the brush back into the bottle. It would be very helpful if the brush so placed could be placed in contact with the liquid in the container between uses.
Therefore, there is a need for a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container.
Often, when the liquid in a container is nearly depleted, the brush on the cap will not reach the liquid so a user must tilt the container to place the brush in contact with the liquid. This is generally cumbersome and can be even more cumbersome if the user cannot fully use his or her hands to balance the container and move the brush. This situation may occur when a user is applying nail polish.
Therefore, there is a need for a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush-in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container, even when the liquid in the container is nearly all used up.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a cap-type liquid container which uses a brush applicator mounted on the cap that will maintain the brush in contact with the liquid whenever the cap of the container is associated with the container, even when the liquid in the container is nearly all used up.
These, and other, objects are achieved by a liquid container which comprises a bottle unit which includes a tubular side wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, an external thread on the outer surface of the side wall, and an annular shoulder on the inner surface of the side wall; a brush unit which includes a brush unit body having a proximal end and a distal end, a bristle unit on the distal end of the body of the brush unit, a spring-accommodating cup on the proximal end of the body of the brush unit, and a detent element on the spring-accommodating cup; a cap unit which includes a tubular wall having an internal surface and an external surface and an external screw thread on the outer surface of the tubular wall of the cap unit, and a stem having a detent element-accommodating notch defined therein; the spring-accommodating cup being in abutting contact with the annular shoulder when the brush unit is associated with the bottle unit; and a spring interposed between the stem and the spring-accommodating cup and biasing the brush unit away from the bottle unit, the detent element being received in the detent element-accommodating notch to prevent separation of the cap unit from the brush unit.
The liquid container is suitable for use with nail polish, adhesive, or any other liquid product that can be applied using a brush. Therefore, while nail polish is specifically mentioned in this disclosure, it is understood that the liquid container embodying the present invention can be used for other such uses as well and no limitation as to nail polish is intended.
The liquid container embodying the present invention biases the brush into a position that maintains the bristles thereof in contact with the liquid in the bottle whenever the brush is associated with the bottle. When the cap is screwed onto the bottle, the spring is compressed so the bristles of the brush remain in contact with the liquid in the bottle but are not overly-compressed. However, as the cap is unscrewed, the spring forces the brush out so even if the cap simply rests on top of the bottle, the brush will be in an extended position so the bristles will remain in contact with the liquid in the bottle. This will occur even if there is very little liquid left in the bottle. The notch/detent combination will permit the brush to move into the cap as the cap is screwed onto the bottle, yet will also prevent the separation of the brush from the cap. The spring bias exerted on the brush will hold the brush stable during use.